Paul Finebaum shares his opinion on the true value of spring games
By Keith Farner
Published:
Paul Finebaum has seen his share of spring games, but he’s not particularly moved by most of them.
The ESPN commentator made his regular weekly appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic In the morning” on Monday on WJOX out of Birmingham, Alabama, and shared his general opinion on spring games, and he puts almost no stock in a spring game, whether it’s good or bad.
“I used to go to them all the time and found myself saying, ‘Why am I doing this?,'” Finebaum said. “I don’t have to go like Cole and you guys. Because you know the coaches are using them for specific purposes. What they’re really built for, it’s an exhibition, it’s another reason to get everybody on campus, and to remind them of why they should give money to your specific collective, whatever school you’re a fan of.”
Cole Cubelic recalled being at Auburn on Saturday, and that the team is rallying around Bryan Harsin after the offseason turmoil that nearly cost him his job. Finebaum said what’s happening at Auburn is a natural reaction, but it doesn’t necessarily predict the future.
“If they didn’t rally around him, I’m not sure there’d be any reason for Bryan Harsin to continue based on what we saw at the end of last season,” Finebaum said. “But we’re way too far away, until we get the quarterback situation established, and then we see what this new staff looks like, and whether this is truly the restart.”
Ultimately, it comes down to the record, and whether the first 6 games go the Tigers way. Otherwise, this spring optimism will be quickly forgotten.
Moving to Texas A&M, Finebaum corrected himself from a couple weeks ago and now expects more from the Aggies because honestly, it’s not Year 2 under Jimbo Fisher.
“I think anything less than 10 (wins) is a disappointment,” Finebaum said. “Because I don’t know how you can explain it.”
Finebaum noted that last year was a mess, in part because of the bowl game opt out, and now they have the incredible recruiting class.
“He’s been there long enough for this to be successful,” Finebaum said.
Our guy @finebaum on SEC spring games and his thoughts @TheMasters in his weekly @CraneWorks1987 segment https://t.co/ZN0r8w0lLl
— McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning (@macandcube) April 11, 2022
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
